


Woke Up New

by everamazingfe



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Adam is hardly mentioned, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Fake AH Crew, GTA AU, Loneliness, M/M, Moving On, New Relationship, Not Included Though, Post-Break Up, Previously Established
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 08:30:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13477632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everamazingfe/pseuds/everamazingfe
Summary: And all he could think was, "Oh, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do without you?"





	Woke Up New

Waking up alone was nothing new for Joel, but this time it was so much different. This time, instead of knowing his boyfriend was just a room away, most likely never have gone to bed at all the night before, he felt lonely and scared. A feeling of freedom also rang in the back of his head, but it wasn't the sort of freedom he wanted. Getting out of bed was a challenge, but when he managed it he found himself talking out loud to a person that was no longer there. He wasn't used to being the only person there, it was going to be a hell of an adjustment. An adjustment that Joel didn't want to make. 

He tried to stick to his new routine as much as he could, making a pot of coffee. It turned out to be too much as he could only stomach about half a mug before he felt sick, but still, he drank it all. Ray hated to let things go to waste, so he wouldn't let it. Maybe he hadn't really hated it when things went to waste, maybe he'd just hated it when Joel let things go to waste because he'd been more than happy to let years of a relationship fall to the wayside and leave like it behind. 

With the last bit of coffee from the pot in his mug, sweetened with cream and sugar so it didn't make him feel any sicker, he began to wander around the house. Joel couldn't even remember what it was that he normally did around this time of the morning. Kiss Ray, talk to Ray, made sure Ray got breakfast before he ran off to join his crew for whatever antics they had planned. Ray. Ray. Ray. It was all Ray. It felt like he was a little boy, lost at the mall. Wandering around, searching for something he wouldn't find again. And all he could think was, "Oh, what do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do without you?" He was lost.

Joel went on this for who knew how long, wandering and talking to himself as if he'd get an answer from the thin air before he snapped to his senses and a chill hit him. Why was it so cold? It was a long trek upstairs to the bedroom, but thankfully he had sense enough to pause and turn up the heat. There was no one there to nag him about how high it'd make the bills even if there was no need for them to worry about money. With a sigh, the words echoed in his head and he turned down the thermostat by a few degrees, opting to put on instead to make up for it. Opening the closet to see that half of its contents were gone, some of that including a few of his own articles of clothing and neglecting a few that Ray had left behind. A memento, maybe? Something to dig the knife in deeper? He ripped the items down from their hangers and threw them into the back of the closet so he wouldn't have to see them right away. They would be hidden until he could bear to deal with them. 

The house that they'd shared was a moderate sized one in the hills of Los Santos, a decent view of the city from the backyard as if that had ever mattered to them. It was the farthest away from the city they could get while still being apart of it. Once upon a time, Joel had absolutely loved the house. A perfect layout in the perfect spot, with perfect neighbors and the perfect amount of space between their houses. But now he loathed it. How could he not? The walls felt like they were closing in on him, he was suffocating. He couldn't have gotten out of there faster, standing on the edge of the yard and the road with hands pressed to his face. 

All around him, the wind was blowing hard and the trees bent and groaned and panted beneath the force, the world seemingly coming alive. It grounded him, and slowly he took his hands from his face, arms falling to his side as he looked out in front of him. Joel let out a heavy breath he hadn't known that he was holding, lifting his head and rolling his shoulders. He could do this, there was no need for fear. Ready for whatever the future would bring him, he returned inside. It no longer felt suffocating despite the emptiness, but he could fill it with something, or someone, else. Even if it was only temporary. 

No longer was he thinking, "What do I do without you?" His mind was stuck on too much else for the former Fake to cross his mind, or for any Fake to cross his mind for that matter. Once in his office, he retrieved his phone from the corner he threw it into the night before, ignoring the messages of concern and anger from Ray's former friends as he scrolled through the contacts instead. It was hard to see past the cracks in the screen, but eventually, he found the one he was looking for. 

"Hey, Adam," he greeted as the familiar cheerful voice rang through on the other end. He leaned back in his chair, turning to his laptop and staring at his reflection on the screen. Adam was talking, saying something, but he didn't hear it entirely. "Right... So, about why I'm calling. It turns out that I do have a job for you after all. How soon can you start?"


End file.
